Swedish Food and Folklore

Every year around Christmas time I get ideas in my head of all the food I’m going to make. More often than not, it never actually happens. Last year, though, I made a breakthrough and actually made the applesauce I had been intending to do for years, and some crisp flatbread to boot. Success!

This year, it was supposed to be spiced wine — or glögg, as the Swedes call it. But then I was in the liquor store and they had so many varieties of glögg that I caved and bought a bottle. I’m still prett...